When Liu Ye has mentioned to let him go to Luoyang to ask the Presidential Council again, Lu Su knows the tacitness of the subject after seeing the situation.
However, as Lu Sun's question came to an end, before he even had a chance to say his farewell, it was Liu Ye's turn to ask Lu Sun instead.
Liu Ye had previously advised the emperor to use the 50,000 captured Wu soldiers for farming purposes, thus he asked Lu Sun about the affairs of the Eastern Wu's farming.
When Lu Sun asked Liu Ye, Liu Ye answered rather cheerfully. So Lu Sun could not return the favor. After Lu Sun and Liu Ye have explained the affairs of the Eastern Wu's farming for a while, three people had a few more words, then Lu Sun stood up to say goodbye to Liu Ye and Huang Quan.
The next day, as Lu Sun was preparing to set off for Luoyang, he came alone to the palace in Shouchun city to request an audience with the emperor.
Although the palace in Shouchun city was a bit small and simple, it was still the imperial palace, not something that officials could just walk into. As Lu Sun walked to the entrance of the palace, he was intercepted by guard patrols who stopped him from entering the palace gate, which was still several tens of tens of meters away from the entrance of the palace.
At that time, the largest number of 2000 taels was in Luoyang, and the second largest was Shouchun city. The rank of Qiang Protection Commandant is higher than 2000 taels, and it doesn't have such face to enter directly.
Lu Sun had no choice but to stand in place, bowing to the captain of the tiger guards and saying, "I am the Qiang Protection Commandant. I came here before taking office to seek an audience with Your Majesty to receive instructions on important matters. I would appreciate it if you could inform him of my arrival."
In the realm of heaven, there is no shortage of officials. Even the patrol captain in the tiger guards was a 600 taels Huangben Zhonglang. The tiger guards are the emperor's own troops, and recognizing the appearance of officials at all levels is just basic training.
The young man looked at Lu Sun once, said little, and then led him to the gate of the palace.
"Lu Commandant, please wait for a moment." After the young man finished speaking, he turned and entered the side door of the palace.
Lu Sun had only mentioned that he was the Qiang Protection Commandant, but did not say his name. But the tiger guard captain had called him Lu commandant just now. It seems that his face has been recognized by many people.
After the young man went in to inform, Lu Sun could only stand outside the palace and wait for the emperor's call. With nothing to do, he had no choice but to look up at the clear blue sky above. It was already early February, and the weather in Shouchun city had begun to warm up.
As Shouchun city was starting to warm up, it's likely that the Wu county home should be even warmer now. I wonder if they have received my message and how King Wu will treat the Lu family.
Lu Sun stood alone at the gate for half an hour, deep in thought and dazed. At the same time, Jiang Wei, who was standing inside the doorway, was quietly observing Lu Sun.
Jiang Wei was young and full of vigor. After coming to the Luoyang Academy, he was selected by the emperor as a dissident horseman. Additionally, having fought in victorious battles and served at the emperor's court had also given him some experience of hardship, so he had recently been boasting of his loyalty and righteousness.
Unlike Liu Ye and Huang Quan, who were older, Jiang Wei was still young and did not yet fully understand the hardships of life. He had not experienced the difficult choices between surrendering or saving one's life, and therefore, he had some contemptuous thoughts about Lu Sun, who was a defeated general.
Jiang Wei slowly walked to the door, bowed and asked Lu Sun: "Are you Lu Commandant?"
Lu Sun turned to look, hurriedly returned the bow, and said, "I am Lu Sun. May I inquire if the emperor wishes to see me?"
Jiang Wei looked at Lu Sun for a moment, then slowly said, "Lu Commandant, the emperor is currently busy with official duties. He has personally instructed me to come and communicate with you."
"Oh?" Lu Sun looked at Jiang Wei: "I beg your pardon, but who might you be?"
Jiang Wei stood straight, slightly lifting his head and said, "I am Jiang Wei, the Dissident Horseman from Tian shui, known as Jiang Bo Yue."
"Tianshui Jiang Bo Yu?" Lu Sun had never heard of this person. He had some doubts about why the emperor sent Jiang Bo Yu to speak with him.
Lu Sun explained: "Jiang Regent, I am about to take office. This time I came to bid farewell to the emperor, and I specially requested His Majesty's advice."
Jiang Wei frowned slightly: "The emperor has already given a verbal order. The emperor is busy right now. You can just discuss the matter with me, Lu Commandant."
Lu Sun felt helpless but slightly disappointed: "Alright. I just wanted to understand, as the Qiang Protection Commandant, how should I handle administrative affairs in the western regions?"
After hearing Lu Sun's words, Jiang Wei took out a letter: "The emperor has already known what your doubts are in advance. He specially made this letter for you."
Lu Sun raised an eyebrow slightly: "A letter? May I ask, what does His Majesty mean by this?"
Jiang Wei explained: "After Lu Commandant arrives in Jin Cheng commandery and Li Ju County, you can open the letter to find out how to proceed."
Lu Sun nodded: "Thank you. Jiang Regent, I have another matter. The military advisor and staff officer positions under the Qiang Protection Commandant have not been appointed yet. Can two people be selected from Shouchun to accompany me to Liang Zhou?"
Jiang Wei replied solemnly, "No way! According to the national regulations, the Qiang Protection Commandant does not have the power to recruit subordinates. Moreover, compared to feudal states, there is never any mention of personal retainers in the Great Wei. Lu Commandant can go if he wishes; there is no need to discuss this matter any further."
Even though Lu Sun had cultivated himself to be well-mannered, he still felt a little embarrassed at this moment. Lu Sun originally wanted to bring his original military advisor Xie Jing together with him to Liang Zhou, but it seems that this is no longer possible.
Lu Sun bowed: "Thank you. Since that is the case, I will be leaving immediately. I will first go to Luoyang and then to Liang Zhou. I hope you will inform His Majesty."
Jiang Wei nodded: "Commandant Lu, please go to the north gate of Shouchun by yourself. There will be someone there to accompany you on the northern journey. I won't see you off."
Lu Sun bowed again, and Jiang Wei did not say anything else, turning to return to the palace.
Lu Sun also knew how to act and turned around to leave.
As Lu Sun walked to the gate of Shouchun's northern gate, he saw someone approaching from a distance, smiling and bowing to him in greeting.
Lu Sun was somewhat puzzled. He felt that he had seen this person's face before.
Lu Sun saw that the person approached, smiling and saying: "Subordinates greet the Qiang Protection Commandant."
Lu Sun narrowed his eyes and pointed at the man, saying, "I remember now, you were the military aide who came to my camp that day!"
Zhou Tao smiled and said, "Commandant, you remember? I am Zhou Tao. I had the pleasure of a brief meeting with you in your army. I never expected to be under your command in the future. Please feel free to give orders."
Lu Sun laughed at this moment. He didn't know whether it was a whimsical arrangement by some high-ranking official in the court, or a fortunate coincidence that gave this deserving man a good position.
Lu Sun asked, "You are Zhou Tao, what is your style name?"
Zhou Tao stretched his fingers in the air and said, "My name is Zhou Tao Zhou Jin Ning. The 'Jin' in my name means 'golden' from Jincheng, and the 'Ning' means 'peaceful' from Anning."
Lu Sun looked at Zhou Tao's face and said, "Jincheng's Jin, Anning's Ning. Are you from Jincheng?"
Zhou Tao bowed and replied, "Indeed, I am from Jincheng. I come from the Zhou family of Jincheng. During the time when Emperor Wu conquered Hanzhong, I served as a military advisor under Governor Su and therefore had the opportunity to join the Great Wei army."
Lu Sun asked, "Since you were a military advisor under Governor Su during the period of Jian'an, what is your official position this time? Is it a position such as Chief of Staff, Military Advisor, or something else?"
Zhou Tao replied, "I am currently serving as your Chief of Staff. From now on, I will be at your service as a horseman."
As a man of Lu Sun's caliber, he couldn't help but feel that fate was being rather mocking at this moment. He himself was traveling by carriage, while Zhou Tao and the ten cavalry guards accompanying him were riding horses. After leaving Shouchun and Yangzhou to the north, he would first have to go to Luoyang to report to the Secretariat, and then proceed to Liangzhou for his post.
As the team slowly journeyed north, they were about to cross the Huai River by ferry. Lu Sun called a halt to the team and got off the carriage to look at the scenery by the riverbank.
This is Shouchun, the Huai River! Eastern Wu has not been able to advance this far in decades, and once we continue north, we will leave Yangzhou.
Lu Sun walked a few steps to the roadside, bending down to scoop up a handful of earth to take away with him. Shouchun is also part of Yangzhou, and it can be considered home territory. Today, he would be leaving here, heading north from now on. He really didn't know when or if he would return to Yangzhou again.
However, after picking up the earth, Lu Sun suddenly realized something and threw it away on the ground with a resolute gesture. He then climbed onto the carriage and ordered the team to continue their journey northward.
Lu Sun has been in Shouchun for many days, and it was not until now that he began to regain some of his former vigor. Now that he is under forty, Liangzhou, although remote, is not an unfathomable place. How could he be worried about not being able to return to Yangzhou?
In the future, if I need to fight in the Eastern Commandery, who knows, I might still have a role to play. Why should I let my own spirit dwindle?
On that day, Lu Sun spent a long time chatting with Liu Ye and Huang Quan in the office of the Minister of State. Although Lu Sun had not had much extensive communication with Huang Quan, he knew that Huang Quan's switching allegiances to Wei was related to himself.
It was during the Battle of Yiling that Lu Sun led his troops to isolate the northern and southern communication of the Shu troops. Huang Quan had no choice but to switch allegiances to Wei when his return route was blocked.
Ever since that day, Lu Sun had been pondering over the fact that although Huang Quan had actively defected to Wei, Liu Bei still treated Huang Quan's family well. In contrast, Lu Sun himself was carried along into the defection to Wei and it was not his own intention.
If the King of Wu truly had the ambition and magnanimity of a ruler, he would not do anything to the Lu family. But if the King of Wu really wanted to vent his anger on the Lu family, it would have to wait until another day.
After clearing his mind, Lu Sun no longer obsessed over past events. Instead, he began to plan for his upcoming journey to Luoyang and Liangzhou in his mind.
As for the Wei, the Wu, and the Eastern Commandery, let them be left to fate. For himself, he would simply go to Liangzhou and fulfill his duties.
This morning in Shouchun city, Jiang Wei told Lu Sun that the emperor was busy with official duties and not just making empty promises to placate Lu Sun.
The emperor was indeed not idle. He was engaged in a conversation with the Minister of State, Liu Ye.
Liu Ye had previously made a suggestion to the emperor about having the captured soldiers from Wu cultivate land. After communicating with Lu Sun about the various policies of cultivation in Wu, he had therefore prepared his arguments and sought an opportunity to discuss them with the emperor.
When it comes to politics, the emperor is always willing to listen patiently. After Liu Ye finished presenting his plan for cultivating the land, the emperor did not immediately give an answer, instead saying they should first consider merits.
Liu Ye bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, according to the custom of previous emperors Wu and Emperor Fü of Wei, discussions on merit after war should return to the capital for further consideration. Is it too hasty to settle the merits here in Shouchun?"
(Chapter ends)
